DNV has awarded the basic design certificate to BW Ideol for its floating wind platform that can support wind turbines with an output of 15 MW and beyond.
BW Ideol says this certification marks a key milestone in the company’s industrial roadmap and confirms the technical soundness of the platform, which is designed for large-scale deployment.
“This certification is a tangible demonstration of the maturity and the reliability of our technology. BW Ideol offers developers a certified, adaptable, and deployment-ready solution that helps reduce engineering lead times, secure financing, and accelerate permitting processes. This is key in strengthening our value proposition as a trusted partner for commercial floating wind projects”, said Paul de la Guérivière , CEO of BW Ideol.
In April last year, the France-based company unveiled its standardised floating foundation product, based on the Damping Pool solution that has been in operation since 2018 in France and Japan, and a blueprint for mass production. BW Ideol said in 2024 that all product classes were compatible with any of the 15+ MW wind turbines and could be easily scaled to the next-generation 20+ MW turbines, when available.
On 21 May, BW Ideol said its standardised floating foundation designed for 15 MW wind turbines is versatile and compatible with various wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) within the same range (14 MW to 16 MW), and that it is currently being scaled up to 22 MW .
Furthermore, the platform is also adaptable to a wide range of metocean conditions, from moderate to more challenging environments. According to the company, the primary objective of this approach is to support multiple projects from a single production line, leveraging the benefits of standardisation and achieving economies of scale.
“Type-certified floating wind platforms, suited to a range of turbine sizes and environmental conditions, are critical to unlocking the full industrial potential of the sector. As floating wind scales up, project developers will need reliable, certified technologies and proven execution capabilities—not one-off prototypes” , BW Ideol stated in a press release on 21 May.